The 1980′s were the Decade when Advertising was lifted into the glorious Halls of fine Art. Suddenly it was all about aesthetics and meaningful messages …

Now after almost a hundred years of professional PR, Advertising and Marketing these three apocalyptic Riders of modern Consumerism are considered essential to the fabric of modern life.

Although everybody says they are not influenced by modern marketing and PR they run out like Mad Men and buy the newest crap.

And advertising and marketing have become the trendsetters for our lifestyles. Art no longer imitates Life, people model their lives on lifestyles and momentums they see in television ads or sneaky guerilla campaigns on the web.

Advertising is not about change, but establishing or exploiting stereotypes that help products and companies.

We will save you … and your money.

Examples? Apple still tries to pretend to be the cool underdog that saves the world (like in the 1984 ad), although it’s paranoid behavior and market capitalization has long surpassed Microsoft.

Many food companies pretend to sell you healthy and fresh food, while the packaging labels tell a VERY different story.

But the Brain Washing is now so deeply entrenched in modern society that Consumers are now Evangelists for their "Brands".

Brand Loyalty is a new form of personality disorders, similar to Nationalism or Racism.

Most dreadful of all are the lies that companies care about the environment or that they have a social consciousness.

Trust us we are greener than green …

Modern Consumerism and good old fashioned Capitalism doesn’t work without some form of exploitation, waste and injustice (ask those people building your cool iPhone).

I only wish people would care AND SPEND as much money on fighting poverty and saving the planet as they do on Brands.

I am a huge fan of Japanese weirdness ingenuity, but this ad leaves me speechless … WTF?!

For me that "ingenuity" is simply hardcore surrealism and that’s why I like it so much. Reality is overrated!

Is George Lucas really so poor he needs addidas’s advertising dollars? Having already been mutilated by it’s maker the original Star Wars movie doesn’t need to be more disfigured, bah!

Tv = Life = Art = Reality … or something life that.

Love that mashup, because it encapsulates almost every silly moment you need a product for.

Dear Politicians, please don’t pose with (nerdy) kids nor technology in the hope that some of that youth and modernity would rub off.

It’s absolutely pathetic.

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The "Supermodel Look" is a combination of genetics, a dedicated team of beauty technicians and computer trickery.

It’s a virtual beauty a mere mortal can’t achieve. Yet many women waste Billions of Euro’s to look like a Supermodel … by buying products advertised by Supermodels.

I love the Economists dry humour and attitude. The cover is a brilliant idea! It goes all biblical on the new Book of Jobs, in reference to the really old one!

Reality has the nasty habit of crashing with advertising and turning it into a perverse new insight.

The 1970′s were so horny they supplied emergency rations with every car. Why is life so boring today?!

I think the Microsoft campaign has done it’s job well: everybody is talking about those cute (more Kylie here) or stupid ads (the dreadful Launch Party video).

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This is a great a advertising idea for tooth paste: tell the consumer to brush his teeth after consuming a sweetie.

More health tips should be advertised in this way.

You can tell it’s an very old advert, because nobody would do masculine stuff in pink / magenta these days.

For me it’s especially funny, because Hasenbräu (Rabbit-Brewerie) is located in Augsburg – a small city in Bavaria that is hardly know for being tough in any way …

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I usually hate advertising – but this Volkswagen campaign is smart, modest and perfectly plays with the memories many people have in relation to this car.

There is no such thing as a "neutral" design – or a design without a message. Design always happens in a context and is based on decisions against or for something.

Many designers love to masturbate to "simple beauty", but even there is a message and a judgment involved.

Just making something nice and honest is boring and naive. Take a stand you touchy designers and don’t hide behind the thin veil of aesthetics and beauty.

As much as I dislike advertising at least it doesn’t hide it’s true intentions of trying to sell you something.

Just because you deliver a stunning performance doesn’t mean you will be generally admired.

Today’s rich athletes either excel in popular sport many people enjoy themselves (like football, golf or tennis) or a totally mad and dangerous sport (like FMX).

Less exciting sports hardly get covered in the media and therefore it’s athletes hardly make any money.

Like the great Bill Connolly said: "I am naked, I have an erection and I will open the door in 10 seconds! Ten, nine, eight… "

As much as I like John Hodgman, but all advertising campaigns have to end some day. Even the bad ones.

Apple think different and come up with something new.

Although there are some good spoof out there.

A charming commercial.

Too many times woman lick or hold ice cream cones or stick other stuff down their throats. Sex sells – and oral sex or symbolism sells even more.

Yes, you are young and yummy. Yes, you are sexy. Yes, we guys want to inseminate you – but I still won’t buy your crappy product.

They never show such roads in car adverts – do they?

All that horsepower and metal just to stand still and breathe all that miserable air.

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The word subtle or normal doesn’t apply here. Orangina is a nice soft drink around here – nothing special . But I love this advertising campaign: it’s the right amount of surrealism and sexism combined with loads of yellow and orange. And how can anything orange be bad?

I can perfectly understand why men in the Middle East go gaga about Haifa Wehbe. She is hot, a great singer and simply delicious (with some help of plastic surgery – which seems very popular in the Middle East).

Is plastic surgery islamic?

But as usual religious fundamentalists couldn’t handle all her sexual power and banned her from performing in Bahrain. Muslim Fundamentalists would not only ban her and put her in a Burka, but ban music in general. Even cell phone ring tones are considered a disturbance of faith. I can’t wait for a fatwa against Nokia.

I am just afraid that she will be the target of an attack – like it has happened against other outspoken woman before. So much about the reference for woman is Arabic countries.

Hey Darling, you can perform in my place anyday!

We might laugh today at the blunt message of this 1950′s TV commercial. But has the message really changed? Individualism has become more prominent since the 1970′s – but the method is still the same: fear. The fear of being not cool, fear of NOT belonging to the big crowd, fear NOT to doing (buying) the best for your loved ones, fear of being NOT adorable, sexy, smart … whatever.

Since most products hardly differ in quality or features – they have to get their uniqueness either through “cool design” or marketing. For example: most cell phones for €100 have the same features for that prices, but they look very different and are often targeted at different crowds (business user, kids, pussy tech, etc).

And it is still fascinating that we still reacted to finely tuned amounts of fear and associations: “Oh, no this cell phone is made for woman. I am a strong guy, I am not gonna buy this although it’s cheaper and does exactly what I want it to do!”.

*inspired by OliviaB sending me a similar coffee ad*

I very much preferred Apple’s marketing when it was based on it’s own technology instead of constantly bashing the PC / Windows.

Today it’s way too much focused on lifestyle or labeling PC users as stupid. Don’t tell I am an idiot because I DON’T use a Mac – you are not making any friends with me …

Smart campaign to visualize how we plunder the (green) resources of our planet. I wonder if we really still need to raise awareness of the situation – I would rather see a paper spender that limits waste in some way …

Everything is just perfect in advertising. Everything isn’t perfect in real life. But it seems to me that more and more people have lost the grip and reality – and think that their life’s should be more like advertising?

I find most fashion and advertising photography pretty boring, predictable and soulless.

But in the case of Maestro Thierry le Gouès it’s different. Sure he does all the stylish shots in the right poses with all these hot models. But he has that extra special bit soul and excitement left.

His work ranges from spiritual fashion porn to almost graphical erotica (like the above pictures Soul series).

Most advertising plays on our fears. This one does this as well – but in a very smart and evil way.

The older Max.

The younger one back in the good old days …

Well, it’s only for a very amusing TV spot. But at least they used the original actor (Matt Frewer).and setup. Great Homage to one of the greatest pop icons of the 80′s. Remember that cool song from Art of Noise with Max?

Once more thanks to Edosan for keeping me updated on my childhood heroes.

Hello I am a PC – and I am a Mac …

Apple has been playing the the same old tune: bad and unreliable PC – super cool and practical Mac. It’s just getting boring to repeat old flame wars again and again.

The more Apple insists on being cooler, younger and more reliable – the more it becomes a joke itself. We are now beyond coolness in your daily life’s – we simply want to work and are hardly excited about any new Geekery. Stuff has to work – and the PC’s simply work as well.

The iPod campaigns so far show how they can do it better: simply show the joy of using the product and it’s simplicity. Don’t even recognize the competition.

Read this nice article at the Telegraph website – and don’t forget to click the big image to watch the video.

Nicely done Guinness – I am sure these people had no cars, furniture or books left after the shot was done.

Thanks to Edosan for another insanely great link.

Ah, they don’t make advertising like that anymore – today it’s even worse! Sometimes I wonder if there is any product that can’t be sold with any sex attached to it?

Maybe grave digging?!

I think this ad perfectly illustrates what red lips signal to us guys.

Thank you Chanel.

A bag of tricks – that’s all a modern women needs …

Photographer: unknown – can anyone help?

Enjoy this brilliant and tasteless advertising. It is good to see that more and more marketing people understand the cynicism of our times and the sarcasm swelling in their clients.

We all hate advertising! So smart marketing drones help us to love hating it.

via the BRILLIANT 2WENTY 4OUR blog.

As any old time Newton owner can attest you: not everything Apple designs is golden. Enter the iPhone – the most overhyped product launch evaaar.

If you told people thirty years ago that people would que to buy a phone you would have been locked away. As should these nerds and Apple fan boys who are willing to pay stupid amounts of money for an overdesigned gadget.

As long as coolnes and feature overkill rule the market we get more and more tech gizmos that do just the same, but more complicated and more expensive.